Shampoo

First let me begin by saying thank you to Anna. Your email jump started me to try some things I have been wanting to do.

It has been nearly 2 weeks now since I left the shampoo bottle alone. Yes, I have been washing my hair regularly, but with baking soda and vinegar. I use a 1 Tablespoon baking soda to 1 cup water mixture and then rinse with about 1 or 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar. I put these liquids in spray bottles. It really has worked quite well. Because my hair is so thick I have discovered that the process best works with a lot of the baking soda mixture and to not rinse until the end of my shower. When my hair is wet there is a slight vinegar smell, but once it's dried, the hair only smells naturally clean. I did cut my hair to facilitate the experimental process. It's hot in Texas, anyway, and I was ready for a shorter cut.

Reflections

So...I was thinking this weekend that we have all officially been in Texas a year now. Damian has completed 2 trimesters and has begun the 3rd. I started my Etsy shop and took a job at the church. Clara has learned how to swim, nearly completed the 1st grade and is having an original poem of hers published. Oliver has grown immensely, potty trained and has moved into that little boy stage of always finding a rock or stick and is fascinated with dinosaurs. Isabel has gone from baby to toddler. We moved her bed to sleep with Oliver and Clara and she is weaned (yes, that's right!). Her language has blossomed and she loves Barney. As a family we have visited the Dallas Zoo, the Fort Worth Zoo, Dallas Botanical Gardens, The World Aquarium, The Museum of Nature and Science, Turner Falls Park, and Dinosaur Valley State Park. We enjoy swimming in our pool and taking walks to see the turtles and cranes and ducks. This is our past year in a nutshell.

Damian's new table

Rearranging

I decided it was time to move Isabel's bed into Ollie's room. As you all know, one project leads into many more. First we arranged the bedroom to fit all the kid's beds and toy shelves. Clara was so excited about Isabel's bed that she decided to move back to the top bunk bed. This means all 3 kids are sleeping in the same room. Because of Clara's decision, Damian and I could move our work spaces into the spare bedroom. The double bed is still here if anyone wants to visit! This has allowed me to better contain my sewing/crafting supplies and gives Damian a study space where nobody is sleeping. The kids' art table remains in the work room and they have really utilized it since I'm spending more time in that room. Of course, all this means we had to rearrange the master bedroom as well, which led me to more projects. These included making new panels for the floor screen, covering a chair, and sewing a wool pad for Bubba the Cat.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Muffins Recipe

For those of you who wanted the sweet potato muffin recipe: When I made them I was out of eggs so I used 1 Tablespoon flax seed meal with 3 Tablespoons water as a substitute. Happy baking! INGREDIENTS 1 sweet potato 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup honey 1 (6 ounce) container vanilla yogurt 1/2 cup oatmeal 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup almonds 1 teaspoon cinnamon DIRECTIONS Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 16 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners; set aside. Prick sweet potato several times with a fork and place onto a baking sheet. Bake the sweet potato in the preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. When the potato is cool enough to handle, peel and mash. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, the 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Stir in the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, honey, yogurt, and mashed sweet potato, just until all ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Blend together the oatmeal, brown sugar, almonds, and the remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a food processor or blender. Sprinkle topping over unbaked muffins. Bake muffins in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 12 to 15 minutes.

Second Spring Break

Following the closing of Clara's school for flu prevention, we made a spontaneous trip to Kansas. It seemed like the right time since Damian was still on break (he started his third trimester today) and Mother's Day just around the corner. We played with cousins, friends, dogs and grandmas and grandpa. We (mostly me) shopped at Et Cetera Shop(I made a haul!) We discussed summer plans and ate together. Damian read for pleasure and drank coffee. We played at the park, walked the dog, played dress-up, and prepared a tea party with real tea.

Dinosaur Valley State Park

On Saturday we drove almost 2 hours to Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas. We had intended to go last weekend, but Clara was sick with a fever the entire weekend. We knew our time would likely be cut short with thunderstorms, but we went anyway. We spent the morning exploring the perfectly preserved dinosaur track sites. Mostly the tracks are preserved in rock in or along the river that runs through the park. Outside of the park entrance was Dinosaur Land where there were reconstructed life sized dinosaurs. We didn't go through that because of the cost and the fact that it had started to rain. But the kids picked out little souvenirs at the gift shop. Also, we chuckled at the "Creation Evidence Museum" that we passed on the way in. We wondered what was inside. Damian was very curious, but we didn't venture in. The dinosaur tracks were most definitely worth the trip. Clara was quite interested in it all. Ollie mostly enjoyed playing in the mud and water.